Warehouse and Truck Pollution Crisis: The Fight for Environmental and Racial Justice in Illinois
Illinois, especially the greater Chicago area, has become a hub for distribution warehouses, driven by the rise of e-commerce and just-in-time delivery. While these warehouses serve as crucial links in the global supply chain, they also contribute to alarming environmental and health issues, disproportionately affecting Black, Brown, and low-income communities. As these warehouses expand, so does the burden on already over-polluted neighborhoods. This blog article will explore the boom of warehouses, how they are connected to environmental and social injustice, and how to take action for a better tomorrow.
The Warehouse Boom and Environmental Injustice
The rapid growth of distribution centers has reshaped many parts of Illinois. There are now 2,401 leased warehouses in the state that are at least 100,000 square feet, generating over 525,000 truck trips per day. Yet the daily truck trip data needs to be reconsidered when it only includes trips for leased warehouses greater than or equal to 100,000 square feet. While this boom might seem like a symbol of economic growth, it is essential to recognize the darker side of e-commerce and distribution expansion. This must be understood when the goods transport industry is the fastest-growing driver of greenhouse gas emissions and the largest absolute contributor in many regions.
Many of these warehouses are clustered near communities of color and working-class neighborhoods. A new report from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) found that Black and Brown communities in Illinois are up to 200% more likely to live near a warehouse than the average state resident. Hispanic/Latino populations are 195% more likely to live within half a mile of a warehouse based on statewide demographics. Meanwhile, Black populations face a 137% higher likelihood of living in proximity to warehouses. This disproportionate exposure isn't a coincidence but a direct result of racist legacies like redlining, which has funneled Black and Brown residents into neighborhoods with less nature and commodities while wealthier, predominantly white areas are tree-lined and surrounded by resources.
A Toxic Combination: Warehouses and Diesel Trucks
Warehouses don't exist in isolation—they are serviced by thousands of trucks, the majority of which run on diesel fuel, spewing harmful pollutants into the air. Diesel trucks contribute significantly to Illinois' nitrogen oxide (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions, leading to severe health consequences for those living nearby. While diesel trucks and buses only make up about 7% of the on-road fleet, they contribute a staggering 67% of NOx and 59% of PM2.5 emissions.
The health impact for communities near these truck routes and warehouses is devastating. Air pollution from trucks has been linked to asthma, heart disease, stroke, low birth weight, and even premature death. Black and Hispanic children in Illinois, already facing structural disadvantages, are also more likely to suffer from asthma— Black children are six times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma and 10 times more likely to die from it than non-Hispanic white children.
Yet it’s not just children who are affected. Older adults, particularly those over 64 years of age, are also at increased risk of pollution-related diseases. And with 2 million Illinois residents living within half a mile of a warehouse, the potential for harm is widespread.
Environmental Racism in Plain Sight
In Illinois, Asian, American Indian, and Alaska Native populations also face higher-than-expected exposure to warehouses, with elevated risks compared to their statewide percentages. In fact, across the state, it’s clear that communities of color bear the brunt of the risk. This is not just an environmental issue; it’s a civil rights issue.
Many of these warehouses also employ people from the same communities they pollute. Black and Hispanic/Latino workers make up 85% of the temporary workers in Illinois warehouses, while the overall workforce in the state is 35% non-white. These workers often earn low wages and endure dangerous working conditions, all while living in neighborhoods heavily burdened by truck traffic and poor air quality. It's a vicious cycle—one that combines economic precarity with environmental degradation.
Lack of Transparency and Regulation
Despite the severity of the pollution and health risks, Illinois has failed to regulate warehouses or track the trucks that service them adequately. While factories are required to obtain permits for their emissions, no such regulation exists for the trucks that stream in and out of warehouses every day, spreading pollution across the state. To make matters worse, the state lacks comprehensive data on where warehouses are located, who owns them, and who operates them. The Energy Information Agency only maintains a database of information about polluting facilities like oil refineries, but there is nothing similar for warehouse locations. This has forced many to turn to private databases that are expensive, limited in scope, and have strict terms around the data that prevent communities from accessing it.
This information is necessary to hold companies accountable for the environmental damage they cause. In addition, since the state doesn’t know enough about pollution from distribution warehouse operations, it can't even understand its overall health and environmental impacts. Warehouses are even sited with no environmental review or public process. There is currently no mechanism to ensure warehouse compliance with the Illinois Climate Action Plan – a roadmap for zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – or the state’s beneficial electrification and transportation pollution reduction goals under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.
Luckily, efforts are underway to address this gap in oversight. State Representative Dagmara Avelar is co-sponsoring a bill that would give the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greater authority to monitor emissions from warehouses and trucks. The bill would require the EPA to collect data on truck traffic and emissions, publish annual reports, and make information about warehouse locations and operators publicly available. However, the passage of this bill is still uncertain, and as more time passes, more Black and Brown communities will continue to suffer. These bills must also take in the fact that many companies lease warehouse space rather than owning and operating their facilities. And what makes matters worse is we have no idea who owns them, making the blame for these issues so much harder to pinpoint.
A Path Forward
Addressing the warehouse pollution crisis in Illinois will require systemic change. For starters, a transition to zero-emission vehicles, as proposed by EDF, could significantly reduce air pollution. The EDF found that converting all medium- and heavy-duty trucks to zero-emission vehicles could reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels by as much as 54% in the most affected neighborhoods. This would not only save lives but also prevent new asthma cases and improve the quality of life for thousands of Illinois residents.
Moreover, increasing transparency and regulation around warehouse operations is critical. Communities have a right to know which companies are profiting from their neighborhoods' suffering, and lawmakers must ensure that these companies are held accountable for their environmental impact. This is especially important when warehouses are disproportionately located in Black and Hispanic communities and only provide low-wage, temporary, dangerous positions. Within Illinois, Black and Hispanic/Latino workers account for 85% of temporary workers in factories and warehouses, while the state’s overall workforce is 35% non-white.
Call to Action: Support HB5013
The warehouse boom in Illinois has come at a heavy cost. Front-line communities will continue to suffer without strong regulation and a shift to cleaner transportation. For those of us living in Illinois, it's crucial to recognize how deeply intertwined racial and environmental justice are. The pollution crisis in warehouse-adjacent communities is not an isolated issue. It's a reflection of broader systemic inequalities that must be addressed if we are to create a truly equitable and sustainable future for all.
Supporting legislation like HB5013, which seeks to regulate warehouse pollution and truck traffic, is one way we can fight back. A more limited version of the bill has been introduced in the Illinois Senate, with state Sen. Javier Loera Cervantes (D-Chicago) as a co-sponsor. He expressed a desire to engage with stakeholders who have voiced concerns and to push the bill forward. But real change will require all of us to push for transparency, accountability, and a transition to clean energy. We must take strong and unified action forward, especially when these measures have drawn opposition from the Illinois Construction Industry Committee, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, and other industry groups. So let’s stand with frontline communities facing the brunt of unchecked power and production and demand a better future for all Illinois residents.